Do I have a degree in physics? No!
But it's 2016, and we have a very good understanding of sound reproduction. Crossing over a tweeter extra low to allow mid range drivers (or unusual woofers) to even attempt reproducing mid to low bass frequencies is nothing but a compromise in performance, for the sake of budget.
My focus has been entirely on the low crossover point of that tweeter. I do not question waveguides universally. Merely when one is shaped in this way, the best out come, whatever it does, is that it is inaudible!
Don't know what other speakers you've heard, but I think taking advantage of domestic pricing on SEAS drivers will yield the best possible experience! And I'd hate for you to drive several hours to hear those speakers!
I spent a few years auditioning probably every single speaker available on the market around here, something like a 4 year project, and I ended up thinking it was maybe two or three speakers that I really liked... and I ended up with a NO-GO decision... I don't want get down to the technicalities even though I'm a very techno-geek in every way... it's one simple equation: Do I enjoy the music or not?
When it came down to it... there were some really famous well renowned speakers that are being hailed in the press as awesome awesome awesome that I really find unlistenable... One of them was a now discontinued product from Mårten design
https://www.marten.se/ close to unlistenable to due to extreme resonances in the lower midrange region... they were all using extreme state of the art drivers from Thiel, with all these ceramic diaphragms... and in addition you could probably cut steel with them, so sharp, they were...
99.5% of the speakers end up in the second 'it's no good' category in my case, so chances are I'm not at all going to like the speakers but I have to keep looking...
We are actually quite spoiled over here in Norway as there are some local producers that make speakers that you will never ever see in the US audio shows or even read about in Stereophile, Absolute Sound, Hi-Fi+ or whatever... The Scandinavian driver industry makes for possibilities for this industry to flourish quite well here... Some of these products are not really cheap but performancefor some of them is crazy ... and so is the price, unfortunately ...
So Arendal sound is in a very tough market as there are som hi-end speakers around here that are shocking.... I could mention brands like Adyton, Doxa, Dynabel... When I'm thinking Arendal sound... well I just have to take a short trip to Oslo Hi-Fi center and they will provide a demo that will blow me completely away... every time... The price tag will blow me away too ... every time ...
One example:
Frequency response 15-100000Hz +/-3dBSensitivity 95dB/1w/1mImpedance 4Ω
Tweeter 1 pc Ribbon type
Fullrange 18 pcs 3” full range without crossover
Active Woofers 8 pcs 10” in 4m transmission line, 1500w
Balanced force cabinet structure Transmission line, linesource Material PMMA, poly methyl methacrylate, ultra stiff
Physical dimensions 14 x 200 x 60 cm
Weight 150kg each
Or I could go to a small backstreet shop in Bergen where the owner will pull out some new Von Schweikert's in a creative setup that leave you begging for winning a lottery (he's not into Norwegian speakers though)
So if I should go in the direction towards Arendal it would probably better to check out what Norwegian company Doxa does, or maybe I will check Arendal sound...
I guess speaker industry is doin quite good around here...
If the speakers from Arendal sound works is only up to the listener to decide, if it makes me believe the music is genuine and it makes me enjoy the music then they're fine; if not, they're no good for me...
Whatever technical reasons behind the waveguide and whatever, if it doesn't work for me it's the end of the line, no matter the technicalities behind it... simple and easy...
Arendal Sound is in the middle of an extremely tough market...
But their price point is very low compared to the other brands I mentioned...
Sorry guys for going completely amok... just couldn't stop writing...